Which Three Books to Start Civilization on Another Planet?

[Kevin_Axion]

You have been chosen by aliens to build a new human civilization on another planet in an adjacent solar system and you are allowed to take 3 books on your shelf right now, which ones do you take?

1. The Road to Reality

2. The Princeton Companion to Mathematics

3. Cosmos

 

[Pengwuino]

I'd bring a Kindle.

 

[khemist]

The bible.

Key to power

 

[Kevin_Axion]

I'd bring a Kindle.

So which three books on your kindle?

 

[Pengwuino]

So which three books on your kindle?

I'd hide the kindle inside 1 hollowed out book storing 1/3 of all the books ever written. I would proceed to buy 2 more kindles and do similar things for the other 2 books.

 

[I like Serena]

1. Physicsforums
2. Google
3. Wikipedia

Oh darn! These aren't books!
My intelligence is going to suffer!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

1. Pimsleur Alienian.
2. Swiss Navy Survival Guide.
3. To Serve Aliens.

 

[DoggerDan]

Bible, King Lear, and the Encyclopedia Britannica

Sorry, it's more than a "book," but I can fit it on a thumb drive. As I'm bringing it, you'll just have to cope. :)

 

[wuliheron]

"Steal This Book", Abbie Hoffman
"The Secrets Of Houdini" by J. C. Cannell
"Alien Abduction Escape" by Steve Schultz

 

[qspeechc]

"Steal This Book", Abbie Hoffman
"The Secrets Of Houdini" by J. C. Cannell
"Alien Abduction Escape" by Steve Schultz

Hahahaha!

 

[Jobrag]

If I look at the shelf now they would be
The River Cottage Year
Nigel Slater's Real Food \
Katie Stewart Times Cookery Book
It's a bummer to read PF on a laptop in the kitchen.

In a better room
Complete Shakespear
King James Bible
Other Men's Flowers

 

[AlephZero]

Niccolo Macchiavelli: The Prince.
Sun Tsu: The Art of War.
F.M. Cornford: Microcosmographia Academica. Read it here, if you never heard of it: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/iau/cornford/cornford.html

 

[micromass]

1) Feynman lectures on physics
2) Biology - Campbell
3) Introduction to psychology - Atkinson

 

[I like Serena]

1) Feynman lectures on physics

What's this?
Are you working through the Feynman lectures?
Good! I definitely recommend them!

 

[SW VandeCarr]

It's said that Abraham Lincoln had just three books available to him in his formative years: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, the King James Bible and an arithmetic textbook. (Of course, he grew up to be a lawyer.)

 

[Brandon_R]

1) Feynman lectures on physics
2) Biology - Campbell
3) Introduction to psychology - Atkinson

I'm suprised it took 12 replies to say the Feynman lectures. That's one book that i will definitely take.

 

[I like Serena]

I'm suprised it took 12 replies to say the Feynman lectures. That's one book that i will definitely take.

And that from a mathematician!

 

[Saitama]

Textbooks, Textbooks and Textbooks.

What else do i have to study?

 

[I like Serena]

Textbooks, Textbooks and Textbooks.

What else do i have to study?

Oh, you need the book that explains how to study books!

 

[Saitama]

Oh, you need the book that explains how to study books!

Where can i find this book?

 

[enigma]

If I'm going to start a new human civilization, then the only book I'd need to bring is the Kama Sutra

 

[Dembadon]

The following will be required reading for every single person in my new civilization:

1. How to Solve It - Polya

2. The Feynman Lectures on Physics - Duh

3. Calculus - Spivak

The inability to reason and solve problems will not be tolerated in my new civilization. If one is found to lack these skills by the age of 18, then they will either be given to the aliens to be used in experiments, or fed to the animals.

 

[eumyang]

Hmm...

1) Bible (NABRE)
2) Encyclopedia Brittanica (on DVD, which means I'll need my laptop too )
3) a portable hard drive with PDF's containing all the musical scores that I can find, and as many MP3's as I can fit (I like classical music)

 

[I like Serena]

3. Calculus - Spivak

The inability to reason and solve problems will not be tolerated in my new civilization. If one is found to lack these skills by the age of 18, then they will either be given to the aliens to be used in experiments, or fed to the animals.

Urkel... I never had Spivak... and I'm already over 18!

 

[micromass]

The inability to reason and solve problems will not be tolerated in my new civilization. If one is found to lack these skills by the age of 18, then they will either be given to the aliens to be used in experiments, or fed to the animals.

Hmmm, I don't think I want to live in your civilization then

 

[I like Serena]

Hmmm, I don't think I want to live in your civilization then

In that case, you're stuck with me! :shy:

 

[Pythagorean]

Molecular Biology of the Cell
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (88th edition)
Communication Systems Engineering

 

[micromass]

In that case, you're stuck with me! :shy:

That might get fun

 

[Dembadon]

Hmmm, I don't think I want to live in your civilization then

In that case, you're stuck with me! :shy:

I don't know what you two are worried about; both of you possesses the skills I require.

 

[Mororvia]

Oh, it has to be on my shelf?

Rocket Propulsion Elements
Classical Mechanics
Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity

 

[SW VandeCarr]

I'm suprised it took 12 replies to say the Feynman lectures. That's one book that i will definitely take.

If you were going to start a new human civilization on a presumably habitable planet, why would you start with a set of lectures on theoretical physics?

 

[rootX]

I wouldn't take any books. Our books are written based on our experiences on the planet Earth bit useless to live on other planet.

I would just let the cultural evolution take care of everything.

 

[Proton Soup]

i don't think my shelf is up to the task. but i'd want books to help me survive.

some type of practical medical book
a book for living off the land
a mathematics compendium of some type

starting over would require a survivalist mode of thinking and living. you'd need the basics and work up from there, with hopefully a headstart on exploiting minerals for energy, metals, etc.

 

[Dembadon]

If you were going to start a new human civilization on a presumably habitable planet, why would you start with a set of lectures on theoretical physics?

To develop sharp minds!

I wouldn't take any books. Our books are written based on our experiences on the planet Earth bit useless to live on other planet.

I would just let the cultural evolution take care of everything.

We don't know whether they will be useless, so it wouldn't hurt to take them. If you end up not needing them, then you've lost nothing. Also, I'd argue that logical thinking and the scientific method would be useful no matter where you ended up.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

I wouldn't take any books. Our books are written based on our experiences on the planet Earth bit useless to live on other planet.

I would just let the cultural evolution take care of everything.

If the planet was habitable, sources regarding engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine, etc would be useful, not to mention human legal and cultural references. However, theoretical physics might be delayed a bit. I don't think the first project would be to build a supercollider.

 

[rootX]

If the planet was habitable, sources regarding engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine, etc would be useful, not to mention human legal and cultural references. However, theoretical physics might be delayed a bit. I don't think the first project would be to build a supercollider.

Certainly yes, building a supercollider first thing humans get will be a suicide equivalent. Food and shelter are more important.

It is an interesting question if our present engineering, medicine, and chemistry technologies will be of any use when we don't have any raw materials or processing tools. Would people go search for raw materials hoping that they can build modern tools and structures or they will be more worried if they are going to stay alive?

 

[SW VandeCarr]

To develop sharp minds!

Sharp minds for what? Are you saying that establishing a human civilization on an alien planet starts with theoretical physics? Surely you're joking.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393316041/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Proton Soup]

Certainly yes, building a supercollider first thing humans get will be a suicide equivalent. Food and shelter are more important.

It is an interesting question if our present engineering, medicine, and chemistry technologies will be of any use when we don't have any raw materials or processing tools. Would people go search for raw materials hoping that they can build modern tools and structures or they will be more worried if they are going to stay alive?

stay alive. you will want to know how to make clay pots, weave baskets, flintknap, hunt, fish, garden, and build. the first year could be a mad dash to get and store food and water, stay warm and dry. it could take a couple of years just to get some leisure time to create greater things.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Certainly yes, building a supercollider first thing humans get will be a suicide equivalent. Food and shelter are more important.

It is an interesting question if our present engineering, medicine, and chemistry technologies will be of any use when we don't have any raw materials or processing tools. Would people go search for raw materials hoping that they can build modern tools and structures or they will be more worried if they are going to stay alive?

I think the assumption would be that we established that the planet could support a human civilization before we started to colonize it.

 

[Dembadon]

Sharp minds for what?

[STRIKE]Sharp minds for what? Surely you're joking! Why wouldn't you want your citizens to be intelligent?[/STRIKE]

Edit: It just occurred to me what you were actually asking with that question.

Are you saying that establishing a human civilization on an alien planet starts with theoretical physics? ...

No, I'm not. And I don't intend to start with Volume 3. I also don't understand why you've limited the series to being purely theoretical. A large chunk of the first volume deals with many basic concepts of science and engineering.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Sharp minds for what? Surely you're joking! Why wouldn't you want your citizens to be intelligent?

No, I'm not. And I don't intend to start with Volume 3. I also don't understand why you've limited the series to being purely theoretical. A large chunk of the first volume deals with many basic concepts of science and engineering.

Yes, I would want the first wave of settlers to be intelligent. Does that mean they should be physicists? Can't we also have intelligent engineers, biologists, chemists and health professionals? The Feynman lectures are directed mostly toward physics students, are they not? It would seem that establishing the infrastructure of a civilization requires engineers of all kinds, biologists to help develop a food supply, chemists to help transform planetary resources to materials humans need to live comfortably and health care professionals to provide their necessary services. What would be the role of the physicist in the early stages of colonization? I certainly do think they would play a role in a more developed civilization.

 

[Dembadon]

Yes, I would want the first wave of settlers to be intelligent. Does that mean they should all be physicists? Can't we also have intelligent engineers, biologists, chemists and health professionals? The Feynman lectures is directed toward physics students, is it not? I would seem that establishing the infrastructure of a civilization requires engineers of all kinds, biologists and to help develop a food supply, chemists to help transform planetary resources to materials humans need to live comfortably and health care professionals to provide their necessary services. What would be the role of the physicist in the early stages of colonization? I certainly do think they would play a role in a more developed civilization.

I don't have any biology, chemistry, or medical books on my bookshelf. I have physics, math, and literature.

Edit: I do agree that the areas you've mentioned would be important, but we are limited to taking what is on our bookshelves at the moment. Perhaps the aliens could lend a hand with additional resources.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

I don't have any biology, chemistry, or medical books on my bookshelf. I have physics, math, and literature.

Edit: I do agree that the areas you've mentioned would be important, but we are limited to taking what is on our bookshelves at the moment. Perhaps the aliens could lend a hand with additional resources.

Or you could stay home. That's what I would do.

 

[Dembadon]

Or you could stay home. That's what I would do.

We'd have to ask Kevin to clarify "chosen."

Aliens:

"You're coming with us."

or

"You're being given the opportunity to build a new civilization; do you accept?"

 

[Alfi]

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mathematics : 2nd edition.
( read it twice and only found one error ) :)

MATHEMATICS ..From the birth of numbers. : Jan Gullbergah ..third ... no answer .. ( I may be a Republican candidate ) opps.

 

[Brandon_R]

My books would be

Feynman lectures on physics
the road to reality and
a backup of the wikipedia.

 

[rootX]

To develop sharp minds!We don't know whether they will be useless, so it wouldn't hurt to take them. If you end up not needing them, then you've lost nothing. Also, I'd argue that logical thinking and the scientific method would be useful no matter where you ended up.

If there were only three books to be taken, I would rather take three with empty pages than one on logical thinking/scientific methods . So that people can write their daily to daily observations on those papers which will be more useful.

 

[jack1212]

'Steal.